Saturday Night:
I was at the Air Canada Centre for the game - standing room, of course - and the only reason I didn't leave disappointed was because I got drunk off my ass. No alcohol allowed in standing room? Pfft.
Another blown lead against another back-up goaltender. What has often been overlooked in the talk about the Leafs' facing mostly back-ups is this: like Chicago on Saturday night, the reason they are facing back-up goalies is that their opponents have usually been in the second of games on back-to-back nights. In theory the opposition is more tired and should have less in the tank as the game wears on than do the Leafs. This is the part of the blown leads that I have yet to wrap my head around. How does a team that has a good reason to slow down in the third blow past a team that doesn't?
Despite the loss, Tomas Kaberle was +4, Pavel Kubina was +3, and Bryan McCabe was -2. Number 24 in your program, number 24 in your hearts.
If I were Paul Maurice...
Here's the thing: the Leafs' current third period system leaves a little to be desired. Blowing this many leads this early in the season is inexcusable. Since the Leafs have played much better through the first two periods, why not abandon the defensive lockdown that we've seen lead to disaster? Why not continue the highly offensive system that is getting the team leads in the first place? It's definitely not traditional thinking, but their system is broken, and badly needs to be fixed.
Eklund
I've not mentioned him before, but Eklund - the anonymous hockey blogger over at Hockeybuzz.com - does some decent work. If you've not heard of him, this is the gist of the site: it is devoted to NHL rumours and opinion, and it's rare to see a trade or other personnel change in the league without its mention on Hockeybuzz.com first. Eklund has seemingly infinite sources and brings interesting rumours almost daily.
Of course, he is to hockey reporting what Robin Williams is to comedy: tell 200 jokes a minute and one is bound to be funny. So, while Eklund nails almost every move, he also reports many more that never materialize. Anyhow, he entertained me this morning with his article, entitled Why the Leafs should and could trade Kaberle. I don't know how realistic it is, but its worth a read nonetheless. It includes this quote from a source, which I liked. "it is widely known that the Leafs are looking to pull something major." Sexy time!
The Reporters: Damien Cox is still a fuck up, and David Shoalts partially redeems himself
I don't even know why I bother to bring up Damien Cox's consistent bullshit writing. In the latest The Spin, Cox berated Darcy Tucker, telling him to stick to hockey playing, and to leave the hockey reporting to the professionals. He then goes on to say Nathan Horton and Sheldon Souray are 'stupid' for fighting. If Tucker shouldn't comment on the writing, Damien, maybe you should leave the playing to the professionals? You can't have it both ways. Fuck, at the very least, re-think placing your Tucker-should-shut-the-fuck-up comment immediately before your Horton-and-Souray-shouldn't-be-fighting comments. You suck, Cox (see what I did there?!)
I don't know what got into David Shoalts. He wrote something worthwhile today. Maybe that was a little harsh - his articles are normally worthwhile in that I'd consider using them to wrap up an aborted fetus - you know, for a cleaner disposal - after making a rusty coat hanger the envy of all its friends. In terms of reading however, Shoalts' articles are simply no good. Today, though, he had something good to say.
"The only real talent the Toronto organization shows is the ability to root through the fans' pockets, snatching up every last nickel. We saw that again last week, when team owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment put the squeeze on mom-and-pop bar owners for extra
payments for Leafs TV.
If only these guys could show the same, ahem, talent for team-building."
You really can't fight that logic. Pwned!
I was at the Air Canada Centre for the game - standing room, of course - and the only reason I didn't leave disappointed was because I got drunk off my ass. No alcohol allowed in standing room? Pfft.
Another blown lead against another back-up goaltender. What has often been overlooked in the talk about the Leafs' facing mostly back-ups is this: like Chicago on Saturday night, the reason they are facing back-up goalies is that their opponents have usually been in the second of games on back-to-back nights. In theory the opposition is more tired and should have less in the tank as the game wears on than do the Leafs. This is the part of the blown leads that I have yet to wrap my head around. How does a team that has a good reason to slow down in the third blow past a team that doesn't?
Despite the loss, Tomas Kaberle was +4, Pavel Kubina was +3, and Bryan McCabe was -2. Number 24 in your program, number 24 in your hearts.
If I were Paul Maurice...
Here's the thing: the Leafs' current third period system leaves a little to be desired. Blowing this many leads this early in the season is inexcusable. Since the Leafs have played much better through the first two periods, why not abandon the defensive lockdown that we've seen lead to disaster? Why not continue the highly offensive system that is getting the team leads in the first place? It's definitely not traditional thinking, but their system is broken, and badly needs to be fixed.
Eklund
I've not mentioned him before, but Eklund - the anonymous hockey blogger over at Hockeybuzz.com - does some decent work. If you've not heard of him, this is the gist of the site: it is devoted to NHL rumours and opinion, and it's rare to see a trade or other personnel change in the league without its mention on Hockeybuzz.com first. Eklund has seemingly infinite sources and brings interesting rumours almost daily.
Of course, he is to hockey reporting what Robin Williams is to comedy: tell 200 jokes a minute and one is bound to be funny. So, while Eklund nails almost every move, he also reports many more that never materialize. Anyhow, he entertained me this morning with his article, entitled Why the Leafs should and could trade Kaberle. I don't know how realistic it is, but its worth a read nonetheless. It includes this quote from a source, which I liked. "it is widely known that the Leafs are looking to pull something major." Sexy time!
The Reporters: Damien Cox is still a fuck up, and David Shoalts partially redeems himself
I don't even know why I bother to bring up Damien Cox's consistent bullshit writing. In the latest The Spin, Cox berated Darcy Tucker, telling him to stick to hockey playing, and to leave the hockey reporting to the professionals. He then goes on to say Nathan Horton and Sheldon Souray are 'stupid' for fighting. If Tucker shouldn't comment on the writing, Damien, maybe you should leave the playing to the professionals? You can't have it both ways. Fuck, at the very least, re-think placing your Tucker-should-shut-the-fuck-up comment immediately before your Horton-and-Souray-shouldn't-be-fighting comments. You suck, Cox (see what I did there?!)
I don't know what got into David Shoalts. He wrote something worthwhile today. Maybe that was a little harsh - his articles are normally worthwhile in that I'd consider using them to wrap up an aborted fetus - you know, for a cleaner disposal - after making a rusty coat hanger the envy of all its friends. In terms of reading however, Shoalts' articles are simply no good. Today, though, he had something good to say.
"The only real talent the Toronto organization shows is the ability to root through the fans' pockets, snatching up every last nickel. We saw that again last week, when team owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment put the squeeze on mom-and-pop bar owners for extra
payments for Leafs TV.
If only these guys could show the same, ahem, talent for team-building."
You really can't fight that logic. Pwned!
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